rost495 I see chris forgot to give website so that you may check it out. GAPrecision.net
also if i could add a little to those looking for a compromise between a carry style hunting rifle and a long range rifle. remember this is for those with limited budgets, experience, time. here goes and i hope i don't get shot for this but when i think long range and something to hunt all north american game i instantly think long action. 270, 7mm, 7mm stw, 300 weatherby mag and such. now if you look at the list one caliber should stick out. its my thinking that the 270 would be the best compromise for long range shooting and a light hunting rifle for the beginner. before you pull the trigger and shoot me, let me finish. the cost for ammo for the 270 is far cheaper than any of the bigger magnums which would allow a shooter to practice more often, second is the recoil of the 270 allows the shooter to get use to shooting something that wont cause the fatal flinching problems like those from the bigger magnums recoil. this alone will help with hitting those little targets way out there. the 270 is well known for its flat shooting and hard hitting. if you just want to hunt to ranges of 200-300 yards and plink a little farther than and out of the box factory unit should do just fine, but if you want to hit game at 400, 500, 600 plus yards i believe some modifications are needed. actions and bolt faces are going to need to be trued and square, action threads need to be chased to be true, locking lugs need to be lapped, like some of those before me barrel length and stiffness become critical. my choice would be a 26" hand lapped fluted ss match grade stress relieved barrel in at least a #6 contour(about 5#). you can go with a shorter barrel but you'll lose velocity which translate into loss knockdown energy down range. for a hunting rifle you need to be concerned with energy at those extended ranges. with this in mind the only real weight issue becomes how far do you really want to shoot? the longer the shot the thicker the barrel, the heavier the system. then have it bedded into a quality stock. add to that a good base and a quality set of rings like badger, or those by ken farrell and add to that the best optics your wallet can afford. if you can't see it you can't hit it. this is just my opinion but if someone new wanted to be able to hunt to a range of 300-500yds and plink afew hundred yards past that and was just getting into it and wanted to try it out inexpensively then they should think about the 270. i would buy a new or used rem 700 bdl 270 practice, practice, practice, to within the limits of the rifle and yourself and then get those custom touches done so that you can extend those ranges to whatever limits you would like, your wallet can afford, and something that you would feel confertable to carry afeild. the only reason for the rem 700 action is its a great foundation for any custom hunter and long range shooter.